Even though this thread has been silent for quite a while, I would like to add one possibility that has not been mentioned before.

Some mp3-players (like my "old" Creative Zen Nano Plus) offer the possibility of doing direct-to-mp3 recordings in astonishing good quality. In combination with a small mixer with phantom power supply and a stereo set of condenser microphones, one has a pretty good and affordable recording setup that is even independent of a computer.

Thanks for the info and the translation. I was pleased to find that the audacity software runs on my Mac (intel). I was worried when I saw the word "Windows" in the hyper-link. I hope to post some recordings when I get a little better. Thanks again.

I'm brand new to the forum, but not to classical guitar, have been playing since 1966. My classical guitar is an acoutic electric model. If I want to record I have a Guitar Port that I bought at Guitar Center in the US for 50 dollars, but I think that model is discontinued. I also use Audacity for the mp3 conversion. Works pretty good.
Glenn

Pickup jack goes direct into computer (iMac G5). Garage Band records, refines and produces an MP3 for release to an unsuspecting world. Total cost is that of the pickup only, and perhaps a cable extension. Mac OS does the rest through Garage Band.

Anyone tried a similar set-up? Since I have not yet tried it I would welcome comments from those who have.

For example how good are K&K pick-ups and how important is the pre-amp?

I use a PWM (Pure Western Mini) passively into various audio interfaces - it sounds like a pickup. The frequency emphasis, the dynamic response, the sustain, the overtone structure, the ambience are all different from a miked recording. It may serve some artistic purpose, or it might alleviate some problem in your recording environment, but in my experience it doesn't deliver a fully satisfactory rendering of the sound of my playing and my instruments.

I haven't used the K&K preamp, but I have used various others and none have erased the "pickupness" of the recordings.

looking at these posts has inspired me to record my playing just to see where I am now, I plan to use a whatever I have available at the moment which is a small external mic and Garage band on the Mac. I will report back and let you know how it goes.

I have today tried recording my playing into Garageband using the built in mic on the Mac. The quality of the recording is amazing! Unfortuately the quality of my playing leaves a great deal to be desired. Its amazing how many mistakes you just skip over when you are playing, I knew I was making some but I didnt think they sounded that bad! Oh well back to the drawing board, I think I need some lessons...

mikemycroft wrote:Sorry Vito Im not sure what you mean by an audio interface? apologies if this is a bit low level but Ive never done this before and Ive only had my Mac a couple of weeks...

I don't know that much either, Mike. An audio interface is a piece of equipment that handles input and output of audio from your computer; it's a lot more than just a sound card. You connect your mic into the audio interface which then connects into your computer. A good condenser mic will make a big difference too. A Google search may be in order here.

i also have a Mac and have recently recorded my first mp3. I am not much of a techie and I only had the computer a couple of months but it was not too difficult.
You can just record it as you were planning to in Garageband. Once you have done that, if you select the song and click on the Share heading (on the top menu bar), you can then select "send song to iTunes". When you send the song, there is also a drop down menu to select what sort of audio file you want to convert to. I selected mp3 as that is the most commonly used one and I think is generally interchangeable for Macs and PCs - it seems to be the preferred option in Delcamp forum.
Once you have done that, all you need to do is upload to the forum...

Lots of useful information. I realized how this topic can be complicated...
I have a few question so far.

1. It was mentioned that it makes little sense connecting professional mics and mixing console to a low-end integrated audio card input. So the question is – provided that there are decent mics and a mixer, to what does the integrated sound deteriorate the outcome?

2. Devices such as H2 and H4 can be directly connected to condenser mics as far as I understood. I believe it can also be done through a mixer, i.e. mics>mixer>H4. Would that give any advantages over the other setup in terms of quality?

3. Consider two options: mic(s) with H4, and mic(s) with high-end computer sound card. Is any combination inferior in terms of sound quality?

4. Preamps. Who needs them if H4 (with phantom power) as well as mixers can do it all?